World-Changing Faith

Aside from Mother's Day, this past Sunday was also the celebration of Pentecost or, as I and others like to call it, the birthday of the Church. And like most people, I enjoy a good birthday celebration. Since Easter I had looked forward to Pentecost because I love the story of how the Christian movement began with the coming of the Holy Spirit. It's one of my favorite stories in the Bible, and one that has not lost its relevance in our modern world.

In most towns and cities around the United States it is almost impossible to walk or drive one mile without passing at least one house of worship. So many cross-topped steeples, so many offering plates and pews, so many pulpits and long-winded preachers offering the world a message. Just what that message might be depends in large part on the name over the door, the up-in-lights denomination out front. It seems there is a church for every taste these days, and no shortage of people at the religious "buffet line" seeking out some place, large or small, that suits their beliefs.

Maybe that's why I like the story of Pentecost and the arrival of the Holy Spirit so much. Before that day, before that moment there was no Church, no bold ministry, no fiery sermons that inspired people to seek a real and personal relationship with a risen Savior. You couldn't walk down the street and pass a series of church buildings wondering what was being taught. But on that day something remarkable happened. On that wonderful day things changed forever. A relatively small band of faithful people, just 120 dedicated folks, obeyed Jesus' command to wait in Jerusalem for the arrival of the Comforter and Helper. Then, when the Spirit came and filled them with boldness, giving them the words to speak, they emerged from their meeting place into the thousands who had come to investigate that great sound from heaven.

Luke, in the book of Acts, describes the sound like that of a rushing, mighty wind, something we might equate to the "freight train" sound of a tornado or the howling of a fierce hurricane. Time and again I've heard people on television talk about how terrifying that sound is, how it instilled such fear that they ran for their lives. But the sound on Pentecost was a little different. The crowds started running, but they ran toward the sound, trying to figure out what it was. The first recipients of the Holy Spirit were also inspired to run, but it was to run to their neighbors, their friends, and even total strangers, and share the one message of the Cross and of the salvation that a risen Christ purchased for all mankind.

What were the results of that first great revival on the day the Church was born? Well, many mocked but others believed. Three thousand souls were saved that day, and those people carried the great message, that single and united message of Jesus back to their homes, and the Church began to spread. The fire of the Holy Spirit ignited the hearts of the 120 disciples, and then it began to spread, catching the whole world on fire.

The reason this story is so important and special to me is because of two verses of Scripture (from NKJV):

"For I am the Lord, I do not change…" —Malachi 3:6

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." —Hebrews 13:8

If the Lord God does not change, if Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, then that means that the Holy Spirit is still alive and well and working with the same power as that Pentecost day. Thousands can still be saved, the winds of God's Spirit can still blow through this world and change lives, and the fire of that same Gospel message can still set hearts ablaze with hope and with love. What is required is that we get back to the basics.

The 120 disciples represented one Church, one Savior, one message, and that is the key to our success today: being in one accord within our spirits. I am not saying that one denomination is better than another, nor am I advocating that we all take our names and heritages and throw them on the rubbish heap. But I wholeheartedly believe that if we set our focus on Jesus and His desire to save souls, preaching His Gospel in love and unity, we can see our world change, no matter what our church name might be.

Can you imagine how wonderful it was for those disciples to tell their story to the crowds that day? Can you imagine how wonderful it was for those who heard that message and accepted Jesus to then go back home and tell others? That has been the backbone of God's Church for 2,000 years: one person telling another person, "This is what the Lord has done for me, and He can do it for you, too." So don't be afraid to tell YOUR story. You are the best qualified person to do that, and your story, your unique experience with the Lord, can change lives today. Whether you come from a small church or a large church, a congregation that's been around for a few weeks or one built centuries ago, you can make a difference.

God's Spirit remains the same, and so the effects His Spirit can bring must also remain the same. It's time we as Christians allow ourselves to be affected by the Holy Spirit's fire, fueled by the infinite love of Jesus Christ for us. It's time we as Christians caused a little noise that makes people want to know what's going on. It's time we as Christians look at the Church not just as some bygone era of history or as individual buildings and conferences, but as one body of believers reaching out to a lost and dying world, offering them the one true message of the life, grace and peace of Jesus. If we do this, and we CAN do this, then we will see our world change as well. Just let the Holy Spirit guide you, and you might be the candle that ignites our world.

 © 2008, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press.  All rights reserved.  All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States.  It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted.  Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

The First Facts of Life

This past Friday I told my five-year-old son that when Mommy got home from school, he and I would go outside and play, perhaps toss a ball around, play tag, whatever way the wind blew. Looking at the radar on Friday, it appeared that the wind was going to be blowing some rain showers and thunderstorms our way. This meant that we had to hurry, that we wouldn't have much time to play. 

So, out we went, down the steps and onto the sidewalk. I got the mail out of our mailbox and remembered I had to also pick up the neighbor's mail. "No sense in waiting for the fun to commence," I told myself, so I threw the ball into the side yard. "Go ahead and play, David. I'll be right back." My son picked up the ball and proceeded to romp as most kids have a tendency to do, while I gathered the lonely mail for my absent neighbor. 

As I make my way back to my front porch, my son runs closer to me and says, "Daddy, I tried to wake Peanut-girl up, but she won't wake up." I already had all the information I needed. Approaching the large dogwood tree, walking beneath a canopy of white blossoms and small green leaves, I see Peanut lying motionless in a little hole she'd dug and in which she liked to spend her time. I took my son by the hand and we walked back to the house. "Why won't she wake up, Daddy?" "Because she died, Bubby." Then the question I knew was to follow: "How do we fix it?" I looked down and said, "We don't, Son." 

My wife's mother passed away a few months before David turned three years old, but he doesn't remember the events, the emotions of the moment. While being somewhat exposed to the passing on of people through my own position as a pastor, this is the first time my son has been truly "emotionally connected" to death. 

I was about the same age as my son when I lost my first dog. I remembered those emotions, over a quarter-century later, as I dug the grave for Peanut (I should say that Peanut had a cancer-like ailment for most of the six years we owned her which caused her to experience several painful episodes, so her sudden and easy passing was a blessing). With shovel in hand I realized that for the rest of the evening, and probably much longer, I would be confronted with questions I could not answer: Why did she die? Will we see her in heaven? How will Jesus wake us up when we get there? Does Jesus have breakfast?  

There were tears, laughs, more tears, moments of comfort and of grief. It's hard for a child to have to confront death, especially the death of a beloved pet that has been around his entire life. But as I sat contemplating the whole situation, I realized that for most people's first experience with the real "facts of life" is dealing with the fact of death, and usually that of a pet. As parents we often fret about that inevitable day we'll be forced to explain the birds and the bees, but it's probably far harder to explain that which even we as adults don't fully comprehend. 

The fact of human life is that it comes to an end, and many times there are no answers, nothing to make everything okay. It's just something that everyone must face sooner or later, and the best way to get through it is by seeking the solace of the Lord. Searching Scripture, I have found no specific references to "pet heaven," but I know that as my son stood at the small grave with my wife and me, he is the one who referenced Jesus. As a pastor and as a father, that made me feel better, because I realize that as an earthly father, there are questions I can't answer and things I can't fix, things like a broken heart. 

We can't always understand fully why things happen the way they do, the reasons behind why and when death comes, and dealing with the pain of that (along with the pain of having no answers) can be almost unbearable. But dealing with the facts of life, all the facts of life, is much easier when you have the Lord to lean on; just knowing there is SOMEONE who DOES have the answers is sometimes enough to make the unbearable just bearable enough. 

As I sat typing this message, my son sat down beside me, saw the pictures of Peanut close to the camera, and the both of them playing. He said, "There's Peanut. You know, I'm really going to miss her, but we had some really good times. We'll just have to remember her and see her in heaven." Is it any wonder Jesus extolled the virtues of childlike faith? Our world today says that faith is child-ISH, but it takes child-LIKE faith to find the peace we need in those hardest of times.  

This won't be the last tragedy my son will have to face in this life, nor the last we as a family will have to endure. But at this stage, I'm glad I can go to bed knowing that my five-year-old son knows where to turn when Daddy can't fix it. To me, there's no greater knowledge, no greater hope, or no greater peace than that. 

So long, Peanut. Thanks for being part of our family, and bringing so much joy to such a special little boy. 

© 2008, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press.  All rights reserved.  All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States.  It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted.  Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

The Hammer of Faith

The subject of faith has, for the last several weeks, been weighing on my mind. I've spoken about it in private conversation, I have preached sermons on the subject, and I find myself thinking about it quite frequently. The importance of faith cannot be overstated for the Christian experience, nor can it be adequately explained or expressed in human terms. Nevertheless, we must try to understand and exercise our faith. The question is, "How do I do that?"

Well, one way is to dream big. I know it sounds a bit cliché but I believe one of the reasons we accomplish so little is because we dream little. I'm all for being realistic, but I honestly feel that we need to have aspirations that are far beyond what we "think" we can possibly do. Recently in a sermon I recalled something my grandfather, himself a former pastor, used to say: "Shoot for the moon. If you hit the streetlight, at least you got off the ground." I really liked that growing up, and as an adult and pastor, I often referred myself to that old saying.

But I realized something: perhaps we are held back as individuals and in our churches because of that very reason: we are aiming at the moon, but we're perfectly content to hit the streetlight. We accept even the smallest success as sufficient success, and we stop there. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that small successes are less valid. In fact some of the greatest accomplishments in life are small. But we should still not be afraid of big dreams. Yes, the moon is farther away than the streetlight, but the moon has a much better view. Perhaps if we'll just take a step or two to the side, we can avoid the streetlight and rise higher than we thought possible. The more we try, the more we accomplish, and the more we try and achieve the greater and stronger our faith becomes.

Another way to understand and exercise faith is to believe. You might be saying, "Isn't that what faith is: believing?" Yes, that's one way to put it. But the belief I'm talking about is a belief in the impossible. It's easy to believe your car is running once you turn the key in the ignition and the engine comes on. It's easy to believe in healing when you're not sick. It is up to us to believe even when it seems like it's an impossibility that what we're believing in will actually come to pass. The way we do this is to take the focus and trust off of ourselves and place that focus and trust on God. You see, we are frail, finite and prone to failure. When we focus on or trust in self we are bound to be let down. By turning our attention to God, who is omnipotent, infinite and unable to fail, we are able to increase our level of hope. All things are possible with God, even the impossible. And as Jesus said, "If you can believe, all things are possible for those who believe."

Understanding and increasing faith also requires an open ear and an open heart. We need to listen to the Lord as He bears witness to our spirit. If the Lord calls you to do something, it is not a call to failure but to succeed. We shy away from so many things, refuse to move for fear of failing, of letting ourselves or others down, or for fear of disappointing the Lord. But the only way the Lord is disappointed is if we refuse to try. When it comes to risking something for Christ, remember that IT IS NO RISK! He wants us to serve Him. He wants us to be strong, unafraid, and bold enough to move in faith toward wherever or whatever it is He's leading us. And remember that the Lord doesn't call for results; He calls for obedience. The results are in His hands. As Paul put it, one plants, another waters, but it is God who gives the increase. Life's greatest disappointments come when we look back and see what could have been. Since success in Jesus is limitless, we should focus not on what could have been, but on what still can be!

I can't help but think of Noah. Noah had his own life, his own plans, but then God showed up. The Lord shared with Noah what His plans were for destroying the earth, and His mechanism for preserving the human race: the ark. It was up to Noah to lay aside self, obey the call of God and start building the ark. In a similar way God also tells us His plans today. His plans include our obedience to His call, our service to His ministry; He calls us to be witnesses, to work, and to be faithful. When we obey His plans for us, we are like Noah: exercising our faith and growing stronger in Him.

Over the one hundred years it took Noah to build the ark, he no doubt had to deal with a great many problems, insults, and any number of other things. But with each swing of his hammer, his faith was made stronger and in the end his faith was justified. You see, God had promised to send the waters to consume the earth and everything in it. It was Noah's job to prepare the ark. And that, my friend, is the lesson: we need to be swinging the hammer of our faith as well.

Sometimes God must have the ark built before He can send the rain. This goes for the positive as well as the negative in life. On the positive side, it sometimes takes great preparation and effort before we're ready to experience the full flood of God's blessings. Yet through the work, in the process itself, we learn a great deal about the Lord as well as strengthening our faith every day. Once we're ready, the Lord can pour His blessings out upon us. And sometimes there are bad things that life throws at us. Through our faithfulness to obey and serve God, we are increasing our faith again. Only this time the strength of faith will enable us to endure, to find the silver lining of Christ's grace which enables us to victoriously make it through any and all of life's great challenges.

All of us are building some kind of ark. I'm sure Noah made extra sure that every crack was filled, every weak spot reinforced, so that no matter what kind of storm hit his ark he'd still stay afloat. That's what we must do. Pay attention to the Lord, allow Him to show you the weak places and cracks in your own life. Then, through prayer and faith, let Him help you fix those problems. In this way, you can weather the storms of life and reap the blessings of God at the same time. It might take a lifetime, but keep swinging that hammer of faith because in the end, you'll be glad you did.

 © 2008, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press.  All rights reserved.  All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States.  It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted.  Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

Learning a New Skill

As a kind of update of the update, I am a week or so away from the start of publication of a weekly (or as close to weekly as possible!) Soulscape e-newsletter. It's been an interesting process, learning the programs, tweaking here and there to make the final product actually look somewhat decent and presentable in your inbox. As far as content, I hope to continue the general pattern of the blog (which I will still be updating with the same content; the e-newsletter is just a more convenient format and is easy to forward, but you can always visit here for the same updates), including a little humor, observation, and Scriptural commentary.

What I have discovered in this process that, as we age, it is increasingly difficult to learn even the most basic of skills. I say this as a still relatively young man, and about an area of knowledge in which I have been fairly well-versed over the years. What should be intuitive has become a difficult process of trial and error, of a sort of "okay, now what am I supposed to do because the last seventeen things I tried didn't work" situation.

Perhaps that's one of the things that keeps the playing field level for everyone. I've said over and over again that everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord, no matter what their circumstances or age. Adults are often frustrated that children are sometimes slow to pick up on the most basic of principles which will help keep them safe and help them develop the wisdom they need to successfully function in this life. Yet we as adults are guilty of many of the same "transgressions" our younger counterparts are: failure to learn from our mistakes, continually trying to do things ourselves, thinking we know what's best at all times, and a general state of arrogance.

Life is hard sometimes. It's difficult to learn new skills or even retain the skills we've already learned. But just as we are patient with young folks as they grow, so God is patient toward us, His children (of any age) who continue to learn and grow, who make plenty of serious and many times avoidable mistakes, and who, given enough time, can grasp those things that make our lives and the lives of others so much better.

So with that in mind, I'll continue trying to learn these computer programs, and learn a little more about life, so that I can bring my observations to you. Hang in there, and we'll see you soon!

© 2008, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press.  All rights reserved.  All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States.  It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted.  Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

To Explain the Delay

As technology moves ever-forward, other methods of communication present themselves. That fact, coupled with a little bit of money to afford said technologies/software programs, will help explain the time since my last entry. Needless to say, I got sicker following the last entry, and it took several days before feeling better. Trying to catch up on things following that illness, and the recent acquisition of a few new programs, have all come together to occupy the majority of my time.

In the next couple of weeks, I hope to be able to institute an idea I'd floated a while back: a Soulscape e-Newsletter. I have to learn the programs and things before being able to actually get down to business, but I hope to have things back up as soon as possible. I will be posting here as usual, but will also be developing an e-newsletter to send Soulscape straight into your inbox. I'm also trying to create an e-newsletter for my church.

Great things are happening, and I look forward to sharing them with you. Please stand by. I appreciate your patience during this time. Don't give up on me yet! I'll be back very soon, and hopefully better than ever!

If you're in the mood for a sermon or two (or more!), stop by http://feeds.feedburner.com/westwoodonline for recent sermon audio additions. You can download them or just listen straight from the webpage. Or you can visit iTunes and search for Chris Keeton, then click on the Westwood Church of God podcasts to subscribe or listen.

God bless!

Does God have RSS?

(NOTE: It is currently five minutes before church is to start on Wednesday, but I'm at home, sick with a cough and bad throat, two things which make it a bit difficult for a preacher. At any rate, I was unable to post yesterday and, in a desire to actually feel useful at a time when I should be in church, I thought I'd write a little something. And, knowing me, I should finish about the same time I would normally wrap up a sermon!)

I was perusing the features of my particular web browser and discovered a way to easily subscribe to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds for many of my favorite web sites. And with a few clicks of my mouse, BANG! Updates right there in front of me! I am a creature of habit, visiting the same websites, in the same order, day after day. Now it will be easy to find daily the relevant and updated information on those little islands I visit in the great sea that is the Internet.

Well, in my weird little way of trying to bring my daily life and experiences to Soulscape and here put a spiritual or inspirational spin on them, I got to thinking about a title for this entry, and it suddenly came: Does God have RSS? And I say YES!

In this case, I would contend that RSS stands for "Really Spiritual Syndication," and God's RSS feed is updated on a moment-by-moment basis. He's had this RSS feed much longer than the Internet, much longer than computers. In fact, He's had His RSS feed for thousands of years. We usually call it by a different name, but the principle is the same: we call it PRAYER.

I've done a lot of writing on prayer in the past, so I'm not going to go into a great exploration of prayer (time and my current health prohibit), but I did want to put a modern spin on an ancient truth. What does God want for us? How can He help us? Does He still speak to us in modern times? The way to find out the answers to these questions is through prayer. Take some time to spend with the Lord in prayer. Don't just talk to Him when you need or want something. Seek His guidance and His fellowship.

The Bible is indeed an ancient book; there is no disputing that. But its relevance can only come to light when we seek God and His will through Jesus Christ. As we pray, we find elements of our own lives in the familiar stories contained in Holy Scripture. When we recognize some path, some similarity, that's God speaking to us. When we feel the warmth of peace and grace in our hearts during a time or a situation where those things should not logically exists, that's God speaking to us. When we pray with the knowledge that even if we don't feel anything spectacular or don't see "results" immediately, that knowledge is God speaking to us.

Since we can get this information any time, it pays to visit the Lord often. We don't want to miss anything He has for us. So I would suggest that you subscribe to God's RSS feed. Just sign up through prayer. You don't even need to worry about entering any other information, since God knows it all anyway. Just express your interest and commit yourself to going to Him regularly, and you will be able to find what you need from the Lord, and what He wants for you.

© 2008, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press.  All rights reserved.  All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States.  It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted.  Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.